The Virtue of Independent Thought and Action - In Your Investments, Too!

In order to keep up with what is going on in the world, and in order to stay ahead of the implications thereof, you have to read a lot of 'stuff.' Most of what you will be reading will be mainstream news. Most of it will be nonsense: skewed myths, half-truths laced with contradictions, lobby- and special interest-biased...making it completely useless conceptually.

Mainstream information is 'mainstream' because it is what sells; it's what the masses WANT to hear, not what they SHOULD hear. It seldom challenges the system or status quo and certainly never second-guesses the official data or the wisdom of those in office.

Unless you are disciplined and determined enough to read between the lines, to look behind the smoke and come to your own common sense and independent conclusions, you will be marching to the tune of another man's agenda.

Nothing but a deceptive lull

After the phase of high volatility in 2011, financial markets have become relatively 'calm.' Investor sentiment is improving; soothing statistics are being dutifully reported. The result? A deceptive lull. The general perception that we are getting back on track is starting to settle in. Central bankers have once again saved the world. Euro land will be fine. America is getting its house in order. Good times are coming back. Well, that perception is false and this lull will be over soon with central bankers, if anything, having made things even worse!

Fundamentally, nothing has changed. The fundamental issues, namely the flaws of a fiat currency system, the decades of loose monetary policies, and the resulting effects of large-scale capital mis-allocation, are still the dominant themes and key drivers today. The potential for a global financial and geo-political crisis is imminent.
Regulatory Tantrums Are No Indicator of 'Good Times'
With public and private debt running rampant, Big Brother has turned to employing suppressive rules and stringent regulations. As an independent thinker, you absolutely need to recognize the implications of an increasingly fussy and egocentric Big Brother who puts himself above the People, and above the law.
Historically, this is the recipe for large-scale wealth transfer... and those investors who procrastinate on taking adequate measures will be hurt. Those who prepare will survive and even benefit from what is coming.

Some have said the power to tax is the power to destroy. But in the modern era, people might say that the power to print money is the power to destroy. Almost all modern societies depend upon money creation to fund their endless stream of laws, collections and levies that citizens shoulder. Thus, the effect of money power is corrosive, substituting a regulatory society for a civil one.

Inflation is on the rise, for all to see. It is no surprise. The problems of the Great Financial Crisis were literally papered over as the US Fed cut interest rates and central bankers around the globe slammed still more fresh liquidity into the financial systems to keep them going. A campfire is not put out by throwing more dry wood − or paper − on top! Avid historians are, no doubt, reminded of Weimar.

History happens in waves and cycles. It rhymes, it repeats, and yet the same mistakes are made over and over again. Those brave enough to not flinch and look reality in the eye should today recognize the patterns of former crises clearly and distinctly. However, for most, reality appears 'too big to fail.' It's a common human misperception and most will never learn. I hope that YOU are independent and different enough to not fall in line.